Ryder climbed out of the chamber, boots crunching over broken rock and dust. The mark on his arm still pulsed faintly, but his body felt drained. Each step made his legs ache. His hands shook, not from fear—but from adrenaline wearing off.
He hadn't just fought in a vision.
He had controlled that pressure. That drowning force.
He'd won.
But the cost was still unknown.
Seris…
He followed the tunnel backward, retracing the path he'd fled through. The battle in the cave had left marks—singed walls, shattered roots, scorch lines across the stone. Her flames had lit this place up like a furnace.
And yet, the silence now was total.
He turned a corner and froze.
Seris lay against the wall, blood smeared across her cheek, sword broken in half beside her. One arm was limp, wrapped in burnt fabric. Her breathing was shallow, but steady.
Ryder rushed to her side and knelt.
"Seris. Hey—wake up."
She groaned faintly.
"You're alive."
She cracked one eye open. "I told you... run."
"You did." He smiled. "I ran. Then came back."
"Stupid choice," she muttered, but the edge of a smirk crossed her face.
He checked her injuries. Mostly burns and bruises. Nothing fatal. She winced when he moved her arm.
"Your shoulder's dislocated," he said.
"Fix it," she said flatly.
He blinked. "What?"
"Now."
"…You sure?"
Her glare said everything.
He grabbed her arm, braced his foot, and jerked.
She screamed—but only for a second. Then her breathing steadied again.
"You're lucky," Ryder said. "The guy who attacked us—he's gone. Or dead."
"No," Seris said. "I burned most of him, but something pulled him back. He'll return."
She tried to stand, but he held her still.
"Rest. I'll watch."
"Where did you run to?" she asked.
He hesitated. "An altar. I triggered something. A memory—an Echo. Of me. Or another me."
Her eyes sharpened.
"A Leviathan Echo?"
"I think so. I fought something. A beast. I crushed it. I didn't know how, I just… knew."
Seris stared at him for a moment, then nodded. "Then it's begun."
"What has?"
"Your awakening. Leviathan doesn't give power. It returns it. Piece by piece. You've only tasted the first fragment."
Ryder sat beside her, back to the wall. "Archivist Thyra found me. Said the Concord will send more agents."
"She's dangerous," Seris said.
"She didn't try to kill me."
"She doesn't need to. She waits. Picks through ruins. Collects Echoes and sells them."
"Is she with the Concord?"
"No. She's with herself."
Silence settled between them for a while. Ryder listened to the wind outside the cave mouth, faint and steady.
"What now?" he asked.
Seris leaned her head back. "We leave this zone. Travel east. There's a Tidewell beneath an abandoned city—Kareth's Hollow. Mythborn used to train there."
He looked at her. "Used to?"
"The Concord purged it. Twenty years ago. What's left now are ruins, monsters, and maybe fragments."
"Fragments?"
"Echo Residue. Old techniques. Lost memories. Weapons forged by Mythics."
Ryder nodded slowly. "Good. I need more."
Seris raised an eyebrow. "You're adapting fast."
"I don't have a choice."
She studied him. "Most people lose their minds after one Echo. You're steady."
"I'm not," he admitted. "But I've drowned before. In my world. I just never understood why it felt… familiar."
"You were born for this," she said, eyes narrowing. "Or reborn."
He stood and helped her up. She limped slightly, but she could walk.
As they exited the cave, Ryder looked out over the cliffside. The land stretched for miles—dry, broken, lifeless. The sun was low in the sky, casting long shadows over the ruins far ahead.
"East," she said.
They moved across cracked stone paths, avoiding broken bridges and tide-corroded monuments. The air grew colder as the sun sank. Distant thunder echoed—but there were no clouds.
Then, Seris stopped.
Ahead, three figures waited on a ridge.
Cloaks. Masks. Tideweavers.
"Echobinders," Seris said. Her grip on the broken sword tightened.
The central figure removed his hood. Gray skin, eyes filled with veins of green light.
"You," Seris said. "You survived."
"I adapt," the man said. "Your flames cost me skin. I will enjoy returning the favor."
Ryder stepped forward.
"She can't fight. But I can."
The man tilted his head. "You're the Leviathan Heir. You shouldn't speak. You should kneel."
Behind him, the two other Binders raised their hands. Threads of raw Tide energy wrapped around their fingers—tight, focused.
"Restrain him," the leader ordered.
Ryder raised his right arm.
Drownspace.
The air warped around him instantly. Water pressure surged outward. The ground cracked under it.
The two subordinates froze—caught in the growing sphere of compression. Their skin paled. Blood dripped from their ears. One collapsed. The other screamed and vanished in a blink.
The leader scowled. "So you've awakened. Impressive."
Ryder walked forward, eyes locked on him.
"You want to bind me? Try."
The man lunged. His hand turned into tendrils of green energy. They struck the edge of Ryder's sphere—and stopped.
Ryder stepped in.
The pressure around him intensified.
He drove his fist into the Binder's chest. Water surged with it.
The impact hurled the man back across the rocks. He crashed through stone and vanished from view.
Silence followed.
Ryder turned back to Seris.
"We keep moving."
She nodded, quietly.
For the first time, she didn't argue.